Katrina Trask (May 30, 1853 – January 8, 1922), also known as Kate Nichols Trask, was an American author and philanthropist.

Life account

She was born Kate Nichols in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

to George Little Nichols and Christina Mary Cole. Her father was a partner in a large importing firm. She married

Spencer Trask Spencer Trask (September 18, 1844 – December 31, 1909) was an American financier, philanthropist, and venture capitalist. Beginning in the 1870s, Trask began investing and supporting entrepreneurs, including Thomas Edison's invention of the el ...

, a prominent Wall Street banker and financier, on November 12, 1874. Her husband was a director of several railroads and the president of the

Edison Illuminating Company The Edison Illuminating Company was established by Thomas Edison on December 17, 1880, to construct electrical generating stations, initially in New York City. The company was the prototype for other local illuminating companies that were establis ...

of New York. He also helped plan and finance the reorganization of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in 1896. Katrina was the mother of four children, all of whom died in infancy or childhood. Spencer was killed in a railroad accident in 1909. In 1913 Katrina suffered several heart attacks and spent much of the remainder of her life developing and financing

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

, an artists' community in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

, where she was an invalid. On February 6, 1921, she married longtime family friend

George Foster Peabody George Foster Peabody (July 27, 1852 – March 4, 1938) was an American banker and philanthropist. Early life He was born to George Henry Peabody and Elvira Peabody (''née'' Canfield) as the first of four children. Both parents were New Eng ...

. Katrina died less than a year later in 1922, and is buried at Yaddo.

Career

In 1878 she wrote ''Colorado Leaves'', and in 1888 the ''Chronicles of Yaddo''. Her first book, ''Under King Constantine'', was published anonymously in 1892. The book contains three long love poems and was written in three days under intense mental strain. She hid the poems away for years until finally persuaded by her husband to have them published. It went through five editions and beginning with the second edition she started identifying herself as Katrina Trask. She published ''Free Not Bound'' (1903), a novel, and ''Night & Morning'' (1907), a narrative in

blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th century", and Pa ...

; both were about love and marriage. In 1908 she wrote ''King Alfred’s Jewel'', a historical drama also in blank verse. As an avid pacifist she wrote an antiwar play, ''In the Vanguard'' which appeared a year before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and went through eight editions and was performed by women clubs and church groups.

Works

* ''Colorado Leaves'' 1878 * ''Chronicles of Yaddo'' 1888 * ''Under King Constantine'' 1892 * ''Sonnets and Lyrics'' 1894 * ''White Satin and Homespun'' 1896 * ''John Leighton, Jr.: a novel'' 1898 * ''Lessons in Love'' 1900 * ''Free Not Bound'' 1903 * ''Mors Et Victoria Drama' 1903 * ''Night & Morning'' 1907 * ''King Alfred’s Jewel'' 1908 * ''In the Vanguard'' 1913 * ''The Statue of Peace'' 1914 * ''The Mighty and the Lowly'' 1915 * ''The Invisible Balance Sheet'' 1916New York Times Book Review, November 19, 1916 * ''Without the Walls: A Reading Play'' 1919

References

Sources

* Weber, H. R. "Trask, Kate Nichols" ''Notable American Women'', Vol. 3, 4th ed., The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1975

External links

* *
yaddo.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trask, Katrina 1853 births 1922 deaths People from Brooklyn American women writers People from Saratoga Springs, New York Burials in Saratoga County, New York